Creative Brand Communications with Foundation Year

Course Overview

The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree. It has also been designed for students who are considering a change of subject of study without a background in an art, design or media subject.

With increasing opportunities presented by digital and social media, there has never been a better time to join the creative industries. The lines between the different communication channels are becoming blurred; advertising agencies are no longer just producing ‘advertising’ they create news, make art, put on events, develop products and much more. In addition, ‘category disruptors’ such as Spotify, Google, Netflix and Amazon are also developing creative content and brand communications. And channels like Vice, Buzzfeed, LADbible, and many others, are creating and delivering news, entertainment and content in engaging, innovative and creative ways.

To meet the needs of these innovators and their subscribers, today’s creatives need to be agile and versatile. To succeed, students need to graduate as cross-disciplinary creatives able to tackle a wide variety of challenges.

Our BA (Hons) Creative Brand Communications course will give you a broad range of skills and knowledge to put you at the cutting edge of creative brand communications. Developed with input from leading Public Relations firm Weber Shandwick, this new course is designed to give you the versatility you need to be highly employable with many options for your future career.

You will learn to think strategically and develop and create content for different media channels for the purposes of advertising, public relations (PR), and branding. It will enable you to explore a wide variety of communications types and styles from print through to video and social media. Not only will this approach give you the opportunity to see which area of the creative communications industry you would like to specialise in, it also gives you a multi-disciplinary approach that’s invaluable for a creative career.

More placements, more choices

Bucks is a Placements Plus university. So, whatever degree you do, you can be sure there’ll be plenty of industry-relevant opportunities on offer, to help you get into your chosen field.

We’ll also prepare you for work beforehand, with special skills for work training, further boosting your CV, and building skills employers will value. In recognition of the value we place on these skills we have incorporated this experience into your study time.

Placements Plus is all about helping you get some valuable experience under your belt while you’re a student. To increase your choices later, and help you get the graduate-level job you want.

Course Details

UCAS CODE: CBCF

Our course is focused on the creative aspects of advertising, PR, branding, online communications and social media.

You will learn how to develop visual and written materials in different media that communicate information creatively and persuasively, gaining an understanding of the conventions and practises of content design and explore the history and context of its development in the advertising, PR and branding industries.

You will develop an appreciation for the unique demands of ‘ideating’ concepts that work across different media and for the challenges and opportunities offered by today’s transmedia environment. You will use the knowledge and skills to develop creative campaigns for Advertising, PR and branding campaigns with a focus on understanding how to give clients in the real-world ideas they can use to express their values, identities as well as simply ‘selling’ and creating awareness.

The course aims to build conceptual abilities alongside practical skills. Ideas are all important but so too are the necessary skills to communicate and position the message. You will be encouraged to develop your art direction, writing, design, digital, strategic, photography and computing talents through a series of skills workshops, critiques, lectures and master classes.

Our students are taught by tutors who have worked in industry and have large contact networks which they draw on to provide you with mentors, visiting lectures and potential work placements.

What are the course entry requirements?

Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for the 3-year undergraduate programme, or those who do not feel fully prepared for a Level 4 course, will be considered for the 4-year programme including a Foundation Year. If you wish to enquire further, please send your query along with any academic evidence or references to admissions@bucks.ac.uk

On review of your application, you may be invited for an interview.

Course Modules

Module Map

This module map provides a list of the modules that make up your course.

Each module is worth a specified number of credits (typically either 15 or 30 credits for undergraduate courses). Compulsory (or ‘core’) modules cover key subject knowledge, while ‘option’ modules enable you to develop your own interests. For a full-time course you must take modules worth a total of 120 credits at each level of the course. The number of option modules you can take depends on the number of compulsory modules at each level. You can find more information about how your course is structured via the Academic Advice pages.

Our teaching is informed by research and employer requirements, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the subject area. In addition, where we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an option module, this may not be offered. If an option module does not run, we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

The modules available on this course are as follows:

Foundation Year Modules

Preparing for Success: Knowledge and Creativity

Preparing for Success: Self-development and Responsibility

Inquiry-based Learning

Photography, Design and Visual Communication

Year 1 Modules

Creative Skills

Conceptual Communication

Brands & Branding

Historical and Critical Thinking

Year 2 Modules

Advertising Communication Skills

Digital Advertising and Creative Content

Transmedia Brand Storytelling

Design Research and Theory

Year 3 Modules

Agency

Final Major Project Creative Combined Independent

Contextual and Historical Studies Dissertation

Fees

How much does it cost

Full Time Home and EU, September 2019: £9,250 per year

Full Time International, September 2019: £12,000 per year

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.